Tom Kelly, the signature voice of USC sports starting in the early 1960s and spanning five decades, died Monday morning at his home in Encino after a long battle with cancer.
Kelly died two days before his 89th birthday Wednesday.
Born in Minneapolis and having started his career in Illinois, Kelly came to Los Angeles to join Chick Hearn on USC football and basketball for the 1961-62 season at KNX radio.
When Hearn left the next year to start broadcasting the newly relocated Lakers, Kelly began a Southern California broadcasting career that included calling five USC national championship football seasons from John McKay to Pete Carroll.